Row erupts over plans to care for sick and premature babies in England

Three of Wales’s most influential medical organisations have come together to oppose plans to move specialist care for sick and premature babies to England, accusing health board bosses of ignoring serious concerns raised by their members.

Three of Wales’s most influential medical organisations have come together to oppose plans to move specialist care for sick and premature babies to England, accusing health board bosses of ignoring serious concerns raised by their members.

The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have made the unprecedented move to join forces to oppose the decision by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to transfer level three neonatal care – put in place for the most critically ill babies – to Arrowe Park on the Wirral.

The North Wales-based health board made the decision earlier this month following consultation on proposals to change the way hospital services are delivered in the region.

The move is set to save the health board around £1.1m a year, however the board said they believe the move will create safer services for the estimated 36 babies who will have to be transferred to England.

But at a joint press conference on the issue, the three unions said their members had expressed their concerns to the health board but their views had been ignored.

They called on the health board to reverse their decision but also urged the Community Health Council and Health Minister Lesley Griffiths to take action.

Helen Rogers, director of the Royal College of Midwives Wales, said: “Our members feel their concerns are not being listened to. There are more questions than answers at the moment. When transferring services from one country to another there is a big impact on women and their families. We are willing to take this to the Health Minister.

“What we’re concerned about is the impact on mothers and their babies. It’s the sociological and psychological impact. Mothers are more likely to suffer postnatal depression if they’re removed from their families in stressful circumstances.

“There has not been any indication there is an inferior services in north Wales and we want to keep it that way. We believe that this decision has not been looked at carefully or properly and this issue should be looked at further.”

All three organisations said they believed that neonatal services could be retained in the region at a safe and sustainable level and said the people of north Wales deserved to receive the best levels of care in their own region.

Dr. Richard Lewis, secretary of the British Medical Association in Wales, said: “We are unprecedented on coming together on this matter. We are asking the health board to reverse its decision.

“There is no reason why these services cannot be sustainable and viable in north Wales. We don’t feel the funding issues stack up. We don’t accept the difficulties in recruiting nursing and medical staff. The difficulties in recruiting staff we believe could be down to the uncertainty surrounding the services.

“I believe that the question is do we want mothers and babies in north Wales to have comprehensive service provided in Wales and don’t they deserve that? And shouldn’t we be planning to ensure that we achieve the standards to allow that to happen? There is no fear about the quality or risks at the moment. Services in north Wales are not inferior; they are of the very highest standard.”

Tina Donnelly, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said: “We have been led to believe that many of our clinicians working in the field across the local health board have not been listened to. They feel they provide and exemplary level of care and in addition to that they feel that this decision is based on cost.

“We for our perspective have specialist nurses working in that faculty we understand from Arrowe Park they are still in the process of training up to those standards.

“We also understand that one of the problems in north Wales is the recruitment of senior medical staff but we know there is medial staff recruited to Betsi Cadwaladr and we know there are some issues with Arrowe Park seeking to recruit middle grade doctors, so from our perspective we feel there is insufficient accurate clinical data to move services.

“We are denying mothers the right to have their babies born in Wales. The Health Minister and the Community Health Council need to listen to the people who are providing this service. As yet no case has been made to move services to Arrowe Park. We are asking for the health board to reverse their decision.”

Dr Lewis said he understood that the Community Health Council had decided not to make a decision on whether to refer the plans to Ms Griffiths until they had more information about the concerns.

Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has previously said she is unable to comment on specific proposals by health boards incase the decisions are referred to her by the Community Health Councils.

The Health Board said they have received clinical advice and evidence that supported their decision, including support from the National Clinical Forum.

A spokeswoman from Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board said: “It is important to emphasise the facts and evidence that led to the decision on neonatal care.

“More than 760 babies every year will continue to be cared for in special care baby and local neonatal units in north Wales. The decision to treat a small number of babies at Arrowe Park applies to about 36 babies each year who need the most intensive, specialist resources and treatment.

“The health board took expert advice and opinion from senior clinicians, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, the National Clinical Forum, and the All Wales Neonatal Network. They support the view that it is not possible to provide this level of care in north Wales.

“Parents, staff and members of the health board all want the best possible care for these vulnerable infants. Evidence and expert advice indicates we can achieve this through working in partnership with Cheshire and Merseyside Neonatal Network.”

A statement from the National Clinical Forum said: “Having considered the evidence presented by the health board, and the individual expert views of forum members, the forum concluded that it supported the health board’s assertion that the most appropriate and effective way to ensure safe and sustainable neonatal intensive care services for babies in north Wales, was to commission the service from Arrowe Park.

“In the opinion of the forum, the proposal for this service to be provided by a larger unit such as Arrowe Park Hospital is a safe and sustainable solution.”

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